"Everyone has strengths and weaknesses, and a good CEO and leader will surround him/herself with people who do other things better than they do."
Gary Kohn started his professional career over 30 years ago in Hollywood as an actor and he has appeared in over 30 films and TV shows before he moved on to become a film and TV producer. Over the years he has worked with some of the biggest names in the business. He consulted and worked for almost every major studio and network in show business, was head of development for various companies, and served on the board of Verge Media, a technology company.
This is where he became fascinated with how technology and content were beginning to intersect and born out of that was Luxury Travel Hackers. He spent a solid two years developing the idea and model before deciding to take a leave of absence from Hollywood to build LTH. Shortly thereafter he met Katie Warner, a former Assistant Attorney General to the state of Texas who left law to become a travel photographer and agent. With a shared passion for photography and travel, they joined forces to start LTH.
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Table of Contents
Let’s start with a brief introduction first. Introduce yourself to our readers.
Gary Kohn: My name is Gary Kohn and I am the co-founder and CEO of Luxury Travel Hackers based here in Texas. We are a tech and travel startup that empowers travelers to book vacations directly from social media.
Our audience is interested to know about how you got started in the first place. Did you always want to become a CEO or was it something you were led to? Our readers would love to know your story!
Gary Kohn: I was probably the furthest thing from a traditional CEO, but I had the drive and at least the interest in leadership in my blood. I started in Hollywood as a producer and actor, but over time my interests evolved and I wanted to try something different. I explained some of my story in the first question, but it’s always interesting to see when people segway from one core industry to another. Sometimes it happens over time, but for me, it took decades in the entertainment industry to one day realize it’s time for something different.
“Selfmade” is a myth. We all received help, no doubt you love to show appreciation to those who supported you when the going got tough, who has been your most important professional inspiration?
Gary Kohn: Wow, this is a hard one because there are so many individuals to name and I have had so many advisors and partners who have been crucial along the way. Throughout my life I wasn’t looking at their resume, I was reading their energy, passion, and enthusiasm for whatever it was they were doing.
That said, with my latest venture I would have to credit Woodrow Zeigangel, who was my earliest advisor and champion for Luxury Travel Hackers. Not only did he teach me to be a CEO, but he always had my best interest in mind and didn’t sugarcoat anything. That brutally authentic and unfiltered experience helped shape who I am now and elevated my ability to be an entrepreneur. I also have to mention my co-founder Katie, who is incredible, knows how to inspire a team, and always keeps me in check to protect the company culture, which I appreciate.
How did your journey lead you to become a CEO? What difficulties did you face along the way and what did you learn from them?
Gary Kohn: Part of the process of figuring out Luxury Travel Hackers with Katie Warner was understanding our different, yet complementary roles. It just made sense to have me in the CEO position for a variety of reasons that we agreed on, balancing out strengths and roles we would be essentially responsible for.
I think when you have a startup or any small company with limited team members, you wear a lot of hats so the term “CEO” is always going to vary from company to company. This isn’t like T-Mobile where the CEO does a bunch of commercials and heads up leadership on new product or marketing campaigns, there is so much more involvement day to day that will always be more “in the trenches” than larger corporations will experience. As a CEO with a startup like Luxury Travel Hackers, the difficulties always come daily with challenges you may have never experienced before. Over time, they become more familiar less challenging, and more just part of the process.
Tell us about your company. What does your business do and what are your responsibilities as a CEO?
Gary Kohn: We created Luxury Travel Hackers as a direct response to the increased complexity of booking travel on the internet. LTH leverages influencers and content to make vacations easily bookable via social media. Since 86% of all travelers choose their next vacation on social media, LTH is turning followers into customers and saving users the 10+ hours of additional research they are spending building a vacation that was just presented to them.
Besides being a co-founder and CEO, I have a huge array of responsibilities that could range from managing investor relationships to hiring staff to handle administrative tasks that are essential to our business. With a startup there is nothing above or below me, it’s really about being effective and consistent with delegating tasks and positions where needed. As the company grows this gets easier, of course.
What does CEO stand for? Beyond the dictionary definition, how would you define it?
Gary Kohn: It’s essentially the embodiment of a brand’s leadership, vision, and communications. It’s hard to wrap everything about a company into a single person and role, but the CEO is as close as it gets. It’s a crucial role since the CEO is what people think about when connecting the human element to a brand or company.
When you first became a CEO, how was it different from what you expected? What surprised you?
Gary Kohn: Well, the amount of work and responsibility is a lot to take on. I knew it would be potentially stressful, but the reward is worth the hard work. I studied a lot of CEOs and their work before launching into the LTH journey, so I had a pretty good idea of what to expect. I think what surprised me is the emotional energy that is required with the role, it’s more than just a job, it’s becoming one and the same with your brand.
There are many schools of thought as to what a CEO’s core roles and responsibilities are. Based on your experience, what are the main things a CEO should focus on? Explain and please share examples or stories to illustrate your vision.
Gary Kohn: The biggest focus is on your brand experience, your team, and the customer who will be trusting their money and time with your company or service. It is realizing that after that customer uses your product, they will indefinitely associate that experience with the CEO, brand, and any team member associated with the company. The same thing goes with your team, how you treat them and empower each team member is critical. Life is experiential, and people are focused on the brand as a whole, not just as a product or service.
Share with us one of the most difficult decisions you had to make for your company that benefited your employees or customers. What made this decision so difficult and what were the positive impacts?
Gary Kohn: Well, as many entrepreneurs and founders can understand, a big sacrifice is not taking a paycheck. Many founders put their own money into a company, so it’s always about taking care of your team first and getting the company to where it needs to be before taking any draws. It can be hard, but nobody said starting a company was easy and simple. Of course, this is the right and only way to do it, as keeping an empowered and happy team will lead to growth and wins for everyone involved.
How would you define success? Does it mean generating a certain amount of wealth, gaining a certain level of popularity, or helping a certain number of people?
Gary Kohn: Success is really about seeing your passion and purpose become something that serves others. That could be one person, thousands, or millions of people. Sure, financial success is crucial, but success is seeing a creation going from nothing to a product or brand that is respected and used by others.
Some leadership skills are innate while others can be learned. What leadership skills do you possess innately and what skills have you cultivated over the years as a CEO?
Gary Kohn: I openly admit I’ve had an insane amount of drive ever since I got into working for a living. That drive will push me through challenges that others may give up on, so it forces me to break through uncomfortable situations and learn new things. Everything as a CEO I learned from scratch and used existing skills I already had to help move me along the journey. I ask lots of questions and am thankful to have a core group of people who guide me and fill in all the gaps I am perhaps clueless on. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses, and a good CEO and leader will surround him/herself with people who do other things better than they do.
How did your role as a CEO help your business overcome challenges caused by the pandemic? Explain with practical examples.
Gary Kohn: Well, LTH launched during a pandemic where travel was either impossible or on the bottom of people’s checklists. That said, travel was already going through a big evolution and we knew after the pandemic that travel would explode once again. Sure, it was a huge blow to enter a pandemic just as things were getting going but it allowed us time to perfect our craft and further build out the brand and influencer partnerships.
Did I mention we got some amazing content filmed along the way? That said, the pandemic either ruined a lot of businesses or gave them a chance to pivot and try something new that could take them to new and exciting levels. I understand and empathize that some businesses did not have that opportunity in 2020, and this more refers to business models that have room to change or truly pivot for changing times.
Do you have any advice for aspiring CEOs and future leaders? What advice would you give a CEO that is just starting on their journey?
Gary Kohn: It’s always wise to do your homework and understand the role of a CEO, but taking the leap and starting your business is always the better route. You can learn so much along the way and use that momentum to figure it out day by day. If you are already in a role at a company and are working your way up the ladder, I suggest letting your team know about your ambitions and working as hard as possible to show leadership, dedication, and interest in creating maximum value.
If you have a startup or simply an idea, put in effort towards building it out every day. Being a CEO and entrepreneur is not a hobby, it’s a way of life and should be enjoyable as an experience. If it feels like work and ultimately a big pain in the ass, I believe you are in the wrong industry.
Thank you for sharing some of your knowledge with our readers! They would also like to know, what is one skill that you’ve always wanted to acquire but never really could?
Gary Kohn: I’d like to get my pilot’s license soon enough, with traveling being a way of life. It would be fun to take some private flights to destinations offered by Luxury Travel Hackers.
Before we finish things off, we have one final question for you. If you wrote a book about your life today, what would the title be?
Gary Kohn: “Hacking Life – Through the eyes and experiences of Gary Kohn”
Jed Morley, VIP Contributor to ValiantCEO and the host of this interview would like to thank Gary Kohn for taking the time to do this interview and share his knowledge and experience with our readers.
If you would like to get in touch with Gary Kohn or his company, you can do it through his – Facebook
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